Ethnic Conflict: A Global Perspective / Edition 1

by Stefan Wolff

Overview

Why is it that Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland have been in perpetual conflict for thirty years when they can live and prosper together elsewhere? Why was there a bloody civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina when Croats, Serbs, and Muslims had lived peacefully side-by-side for decades? Why did nobody see and act upon the early warning signs of genocide in Rwanda that eventually killed close to a million people in a matter of weeks? What is it that makes Kashmir potentially worth a nuclear war between India and Pakistan?
In Ethnic Conflict, Stefan Wolff draws upon eye witness testimonies, reports by Human Rights organizations, theories of conflict and conflict management, and his own long experience in working to resolve ethnic conflict to offer compelling answers to these questions. In recent years hardly a day has gone by when ethnic conflict in some part of the world has not made headline news. The violence involved in these conflicts continues to destabilize entire regions, hamper social and economic development, and cause unimaginable human suffering. Wolff goes beyond superficial media coverage of these crises to illuminate the broad similarities between ethnic conflicts around the world and to engage the fundamental question underlying them all: why do nationalism and ethnicity still have such terrible power to turn neighbor against neighbor? Wolff also explores the crucial-and growing-links between ethnic conflict and other security challenges, such as terrorism and organized crime.
No issue is more pressing in the world today than the ongoing and seemingly intractable tragedy of ethnic conflict. Stefan Wolff's new book sheds vitally important new light on both the causes and the potential solutions to one of humanity's darkest behaviors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192805881
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/26/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	7.73(w) x 5.06(h) x 0.71(d)

About the Author

Stefan Wolff is Professor of Political Science at the University of Nottingham , Visiting Professorial Lecturer at SAIS Bologna Center, and Senior Non-resident Research Associate at the European Centre for Minority Issues in Flensburg, Germany. He editor of the journal Ethnopolitics and and the author of Disputed Territories: The Transnational Dynamics of Ethnic Conflict, The German Question, and other books.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Ethnopolitics: Conflict versus Cooperation1. The Human Dimension: Facts, Figures, and Stories of Ethnic Conflict2. Ethnicity and Nationalism3. What Causes Ethnic Conflicts? 4. Who Fights in Ethnic Conflicts and How? 5. Managing and Settling Ethnic Conflicts6. Post-conflict Reconstruction7. The Future of Ethnic Conflict: Possibilities and Probabilities

Editorial Reviews

"Review from previous edition Most interesting and stimulating reading."—Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum

"Understanding ethnic conflict will be among our most important tasks in coming years. Stefan Wolff is a renowned expert, and in this insightful book of case studies and analysis he shows what works in resolving conflicts and how these lessons can be applied. This is an important book for our times."—Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute

"An important book for our times."—Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute

"Clear, intelligent, full of relevant case studies. An excellent, accessible overview."—Gareth Evans, Chairman of the International Crisis Group and former Foreign Minister of Australia

"A masterpiece of synthesis, a fine tour of the field...informed, lucid, and accessible."—Donald Horowitz, Duke Professor of Law and Political Science, Duke University

"Very useful...[A]n extensive and insightful review of ethnic conflicts around the world."—Dennis Ross, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

From the Publisher